As teams from various ninja villages entered the Demonic Desert, the battles to seize the scrolls began.
Sasuke, accompanied by Chion Aburame and "Shōmaru," encountered and defeated several teams while heading to the central base of the Demonic Desert.
Unfortunately, the scrolls they obtained were duplicates.
Thus, they decided to continue to the central base, planning to lie in wait for teams that had collected the required scrolls to come their way.
The trio spent a day reaching the central base of the Demonic Desert, gathering enough fresh water and food nearby to sustain themselves while they awaited their prey.
Everything was ready, save for the perfect opportunity.
However, to their surprise, they did not encounter any teams with the complete set of scrolls. Instead, they received a notice from Sunagakure that the exams were being canceled.
With no other choice, they began their return journey.
When they arrived back at the Demonic Desert monitoring station, other candidates were also returning, one after another.
The sudden cancellation of the exam left many teams disgruntled, as most had not gathered the required scrolls.
Amid the murmuring crowd, Gaara, the Kazekage, appeared above the monitoring station and addressed the examinees.
"Thank you all for your hard work. As time passes, the ninja world must be built on a new set of rules and order.
For a long time, it has been said that ninjas will sacrifice even their comrades' lives to protect the rules.
But now we know something more important than rules—bonds between friends, village comrades, and teammates who share each other's burdens!"
Hearing his words, many examinees nodded in agreement, resonating deeply with his sentiments.
Gaara scanned the crowd before continuing.
"I believe that everyone standing here has already understood this. Therefore, the unnecessary third exam will be canceled, and the qualification criteria for the second exam will be adjusted.
The performance of everyone in the second round will be documented in detail and sent to the respective Kage of your villages. Your promotion will be determined by them."
With that, Gaara turned and left. Temari, one of the examiners, announced the conclusion of the exam and allowed the candidates to return to their villages.
Just as Sasuke was about to lead his team back, Shōmaru spoke up.
"Sasuke, Princess Chion, you two go ahead. I'm a bit tired and want to rest here for a day before returning."
"Hm?" Sasuke frowned at his words but eventually nodded. "Alright then, we'll go ahead."
Chion Aburame waved at Ko as she said, "Goodbye, Brother Shōmaru. Be careful on your own. See you later!"
"See you, Princess Chion!"
Shōmaru waved back at her and Sasuke, watching them depart before returning to the monitoring station.
Many candidates chose to remain temporarily, most nursing injuries or accompanying injured teammates.
Shōmaru, however, ignored the others and returned to his assigned quarters, staying there until nightfall.
Nighttime in the Demonic Desert was perilous, rife with sandstorms and giant scorpions roaming the area. Few dared to venture out at this time.
Yet Shōmaru left his room under the cover of night.
Moving with remarkable agility, he evaded the Sunagakure guards and slipped out of the monitoring station, dashing across the desert.
The howling desert winds did not hinder his speed. He moved like lightning, covering hundreds of meters in mere moments.
Suddenly, a massive figure burst from beneath the desert sands, wielding four enormous pincers to block his path.
It was the Giant Scorpion of the Demonic Desert!
A monster like this would challenge even a seasoned Jonin, but Shōmaru didn't falter or slow his pace.
"Heh…"
With a slight smirk, he opened his mouth, quickly forming a tailed beast ball the size of a cherry. He spat it out.
"Boom!"
The explosion reduced the scorpion to scattered fragments of its shell.
As the dust settled, a figure clad in a red coat and wearing black sunglasses emerged from the shadows.
This was no ordinary "Shōmaru"—it was Shigeo Aburame!
It turned out that back in Konoha, he had disguised himself as "Shōmaru" to join Sasuke and Chion in participating in the Chunin Exams.
Sasuke's smooth progression throughout the exam? It was all thanks to Shigeo's secret assistance.
Using his foreknowledge as a transmigrator, securing victory in a Chunin Exam was merely child's play.
Now that the exams were over, he no longer needed his disguise and could pursue his own goals.
After traveling all night, Shigeo finally crossed the borders of the Land of Wind and the Land of Rivers, entering the Land of Fire by dawn.
Instead of following the route back to Konoha, he turned north, heading towards Takigakure.
By now, fatigue was beginning to show on his face.
The *Nine Seals of Yin* had drained nearly 90% of his chakra recovery. Coupled with the all-night travel, he was left with less than 10% of his chakra reserves.
Even so, his remaining chakra was still far greater than that of ordinary ninjas.
Determined, he pressed on at full speed.
By afternoon, he reached the borders of the Land of Waterfalls and caught up with his target: Fu, the Jinchuriki of the Seven-Tails from Takigakure.
In the original storyline, Fu was ambushed by Akatsuki members Hidan and Kakuzu on her way back from the Sunagakure Chunin Exams. She was captured, and her tailed beast was extracted, resulting in her death.
The anime didn't elaborate on the battle, and the Seven-Tails' role was minimal, leading many to overlook its importance.
But not Shigeo Aburame.
To him, the Seven-Tails was highly valuable.
Although its power ranked low among the nine tailed beasts, its chakra reserves were the third-largest.
The tailed beasts' chakra levels correspond to their tail count!
Most importantly, as an insect-like tailed beast, it perfectly suited Shigeo Aburame's style.
"Leaving a creature like the Seven-Tails in Takigakure or Akatsuki's hands would be a waste. Only I can unlock its true potential!"
With this thought, Shigeo personally entered the Land of Waterfalls to intercept Akatsuki's plans.
Initially, his plan was to act before Hidan and Kakuzu, securing the Seven-Tails and retreating quickly to avoid conflict with Akatsuki.
He wasn't ready to confront Obito just yet.
Unfortunately, by the time he caught up to Fu, Hidan and Kakuzu had already arrived and alerted Fu's two bodyguards.
"Enemy ninjas!"
"Yeah… they've been trailing us for a while now!"
The bodyguards signaled Fu to move.
"Fu, head to the clearing over there!"
"Huh?" Fu hesitated before sighing. "Fine, fine…"
She retracted the wings formed from her tailed beast chakra and landed in the clearing ahead.
Her two bodyguards immediately stepped forward, shouting a warning.
"Whoever you are, we know you're there! Come out now!"
The sound of rustling leaves filled the air as Hidan and Kakuzu, clad in their black Akatsuki cloaks with red clouds, stepped into view.
Simultaneously, Shigeo Aburame appeared, dressed in his red hooded robe.
Seeing him, Fu's bodyguards tensed up.
"It's the Black Demon of Konoha!"
"Don't tell me Konoha is targeting us now? This is bad…"
Shigeo, however, paid them no mind. Pushing his sunglasses higher on his face, he turned his gaze to Hidan and Kakuzu.
"Are you leaving on your own, or shall I send you off myself?"
*(To Be Continued)*